Date of Approval: July 7, 2004
Date of Approval: July 7, 2004
Date of Publication: July 8, 2004
Indocement to implement Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
initiatives
Changes in the Earth's climate is the most obvious effects of
increasing greenhouse gases.
If that really happens, as scientists have predicted, then
rising global temperatures would cause floods, long periods of
drought, the demise of biodiversity, imbalanced ecosystems and
various diseases, such as respiratory problems and malaria in
developing countries. Thus, climate change poses a threat to
long-term development.
Carbon dioxide (CO2), from burning coal, oil and natural gas,
all of which are fossil fuels, has frequently been cited as the
major cause of greenhouse gases.
There is growing concern about emissions caused by industrial
activities, especially those using fossil fuels. Cement is
produced by burning a mixture of raw materials comprising mainly
of limestone and clay in large rotary kilns at temperatures above
1450 degrees Celsius. This process results in the formation of
clinker, which together with gypsum and other materials, is
transformed into cement after grinding. The CO2 emissions from
cement manufacturers originate mainly from the burning process
and the de-carbonation of the limestone.
Globally, cement production accounts for about 3 percent to 4
percent of total greenhouse gas emissions.
A study by the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development entitled, Toward a Sustainable Cement Industry,
sponsored by 10 leading cement producers including Germany's
HeidelbergCement Group, majority shareholder of PT Indocement
Tuggal Prakarsa (Indocement), explains how the cement industry
can develop in a sustainable way with a focus on economic growth,
a balanced ecosystem and social development as its three main
pillars.
Due to the substantial CO2 emissions from the cement industry,
particular attention is given to reduce such emissions through
the use of other sources of energy and by using less clinker in
cement.
Aware of the importance of protecting global climate,
Indocement is currently engaged in implementing a project within
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol
Initiatives as part of its continuous efforts to ensure
sustainable development.
Indocement's commitment to global climate protection was
demonstrated when the company and the World Bank signed an
agreement for the first cement sector project for reducing
greenhouse gas emissions. The Emissions Reduction Purchase
Agreement was signed in Cologne, Germany on June 9, 2004 in
connection with the first Carbo Expo, a trade fair event for the
global carbon market.
Under the agreement, Indocement will receive funds from the
Prototype Carbon Fund (PCF), a World Bank administered fund
representing six governments and 17 companies.
For Indocement, to remain competitive in the future, business
objectives of the cement industry must take into account the
sustainable development goal, namely to "meet the need of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs". Hence, Indocement continues to give
significant effort to minimizing the environmental impact of its
production and maximizes the impact on development while
supporting local community development.
In operation for almost 30 years, the company's three plants
-- Citeureup, about 45 kilometers south of Jakarta, Cirebon,
about 300 km east of Jakarta and Tarjun in South Kalimantan --
apply well-established environmental management and monitoring
practices. A set of institutional, management and monitoring
measures are in place to ensure full compliance with applicable
Indonesian legislation and standards. Wherever practical and
feasible, Indocement aims to avoid adverse environmental and
social impacts of its operations. Where such impacts are
inevitable, Indocement is committed to reducing them to
acceptable levels.
The main impact upon air quality in the cement industry is
dust and gaseous emissions such as carbon dioxide. Indocement has
installed Electronic Precipitators that meet stringent Indonesian
and international standards.
With regard to Indocement's, Sustainable Cement Production
Project, under the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto
Protocol, Indocement plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by
introducing alternative fuels and producing new types of cement.
Following the principles of the Kyoto Protocol -- the 1997
international agreement to limit the emissions that cause
climate-altering greenhouse gases - the CDM allows industrialized
countries and companies with greenhouse gas reduction commitments
to purchase some of their required reductions in developing
countries.
As part of the Sustainable Cement Production Project,
Indocement will produce a composite cement that will displace
more emission-intensive Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) by
introducing high quality limestone as well as natural pozzolan
(trass) and fly-ash from coal powered stations. Furthermore, the
company will introduce alternative fuels (biomas), such as rice
husks, coconut shells and sawdust instead of coal in the burning
process in the company's three locations, Citeureup, Cirebon and
Tarjun.
According to Indocement's Technical Director Olivind Hoidalan,
Indocement's CDM undertaking, which will be the first project of
its kind by a cement company in Indonesia, will begin in 2005 and
is foreseen to continue for more than 10 years.
"The total greenhouse gas emission reduction is estimated at
around 10 million over a period of 10 years," he said.
The Kyoto Protocol inked in Japan in 1997 is the driving
force. The protocol commits industrialized countries to reduce
their carbon emissions by an average of 5 percent below 1990
levels in the period from 2008 to 2012.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, countries and companies can
supplement their international and national reduction targets by
purchasing lower-cost emission reductions in developing countries
by sponsoring emission-reduction projects. As a result, projects
in developing countries will get a new source of funding for
sustainable development in the energy, industrial and waste
management sectors, land rehabilitation and clean technologies.
Industrialized countries can meet part of their Kyoto obligation,
while the threat of climate change is reduced at lower overall
cost.
For Indocement, an awareness of global climate protection for
sustainable development is insufficient. This awareness should be
followed by tangible steps. Through the CDM initiatives,
Indocement translates awareness into concrete actions.